ep1str0phy

All things considered, that's not a bad price.

(This was a pretty hard one to figure out, MG) Sekou Toure Patrice Lumumba Steve Biko

EX-CES-SIVE. (Although I'd love to have the cash to burn for that Frank Wright...)

Granted--but the other reviews on his website suggest that he's not entirely a weekend warrior about modern jazz/improv... I'll trust my ears, though (when I get a copy). Oh, and as per BFrank's blurb--I'd say that the Strata-East big band stuff is the essential material here...

I love that Quebec album.

Of course there's still a lot of sentimentality/protectiveness about a (to be fair) substantial musical legacy (BN) and the cultural/iconographic legacy that it has birthed. What one might find bothersome (and this is to take nothing away from the aesthetics, intents, purposes, or--finally--quality of the younger groups) is precisely how persistent certain forces are about simultaneously mining a rich historical musical legacy and siphoning the energies off that legacy and onto projects almost wholly removed from the former "label spirit". That "finest in jazz" thing is still on the logo (implicitly or directly), after all... Pragmatically: (1) as we have explored in other threads, we've fetishized this label to death (mutating into a sort of blind vitriol toward lord knows who--and yes, we're probably marring those more accomplished works and artists with our endless, whiny tirades), (2) Blue Note has not been Blue Note for decades, (3) more money/mainstream prestige for BN may be good news for those reissues we throb over, (4) I'm aware that few of us are actually complaining this time, and I join you in my resignation.

And hell, there's always Afternoon of a Georgia Faun, which is probably one of the best albums of its era/kind. Re: Scofield... he's not the kind of player I'd like to listen to all the time, but I've always been impressed by playing. He's got fine phrasing and a phenomenal groove, and even if he isn't the sort of dyed-in-the-wool experimentalist that this music often demands, he's still one of the more articulate voices in the modern mainstream. IMO, anyway.

He's excellent on that Braxton does Hill album on CIMP. He's a terrifically fluid player with just the right thing of angular mania (ala Braxton himself).

Multiple choice: Who, Charles Tolliver? Yuck. You ever tried getting corpse vomit out of carpet? You must not remember the 70s... All of the above. To be fair, "Fcking Boyfriend" is a step or two removed from Reuben Wilson.

What I want to know is when the official website will begin selling merchandise. If we can't get long OOP albums (Echoes of a Prayer? Please?), then we should at least have shirts--I mean, who wouldn't wear a tasteful Grachan shirt?

Ahmed Abdullah: Life's Force -Anyone else have this one? Sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday (remarkably prescient--anticipates a lot of the sparse-melodic sound of the CIMP roster). Abdullah is in excellent form (never really appreciated him like I do here).

Jeff would like to have a word with you... Seriously though--my first guitar teacher used to run into Jeff Beck from time to time. Supposedly, he's unremittingly self-involved and egotistical. Surprised?

Greatest Hits 2 has some great stuff as well. That's where you'll find "Levon," "Tiny Dancer," Elton's versions of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Pinball Wizard," "Island Girl," "I Feel Like A Bullet From The Gun Of Robert Ford," and "Philadelphia Freedom." Or you could just get the albums from that era. They really are great. "Hold me close now Tony Danza" I had no idea that other people were making that joke... Early Rod's aiight. I think he's excellent on Truth, fwiw.

Does anyone here own this?

Being a tremendous Moncur fan, I was overwhelmingly happy hearing just how "together" the Capri set was. Truth be told, the sidemen contributions are tremendous--but Moncur's beautiful sound, that cerebral, somewhat eldritch psychology, is all over the thing. I second C's recommendation... So brownie--is Grachan simply a featured artist in this film (encompassing, for example, many of his peers), or is this joint generally centered on him?

Glad you went for it... Today: Amoeba splurge (tide me over for a bit): Dudu Pukwana: Cosmics Chapter 90 Ronnie Boykins (ESP) Ted Curson: Tears for Dolphy Willem Breuker Kollektief: Pakkapapen Rashied Ali Quartet + Quintet: Moon Flight (Ahmed) Abdullah: Life's Force Muhal Richard Abrams: Live at Montreux 1978 Michael Mantler: No Answer

Thanks for this--my girlfriend is petrified of mountain lions, so there's hope...

Heh... thanks for that...

That video--naw, man. That has to be a hoax. Besides--Cyndi Lauper? Doesn't she promote masturbation? That's sorta gay...

Paul Cook Keith Moon Ginger Baker

I've been getting really conscious of my ears lately (especially recovering from congestion, being a musician--it just sucks not to hear those nuances...). Health is such a fragile thing... I think I'll be spinning Ornette's The Great London Concert again shortly...

Another note (as the regulars on this section would probably appreciate it): who here has heard/picked up the reissue of Gwigwi Mrwebi's Mbaqanga Songs? It's post-Blue Notes, pre-BoB material (with early versions of some BoB tunes), but the points of reference here are a little oblique... it might fit in with some of Masakela's work (the post-Jazz Epistle scene), as it is certainly along the lines of afro-pop--but the energy level here is a lot closer to Pukwana's Spear albums. It's a beautiful set that always sits just this side of tipping out...

Don't know about what happened to DeGeronimo, but this popped up: http://mysite.verizon.net/rutherford.ll/hi...stats/index.htm Do a "find" for his name--Lions, 1961. Was he on the Rutherford Little League roster? (it's an obscure name, so...) re: New Africa. The key track for me on that one is "When"; it's where the contrasts between the players are most pronounced. The "hand-off" between Mitchell and Shepp is amazing. Mitchell isn't reaching for those florid, explosive runs--he leans on the melody, waltzes with it--there's a tremendous push-pull tension within his lines, and the sheer force of those phrases is enough to make the listener pop. Then comes Shepp, who is flat-out, apeshit nuts... starts out with that bubbling, seething tone of his, then BOOM--all the tension that had accumulated from the Mitchell solo just comes pouring out in this tough, beautiful altissimo. What's really great is that the rhythm players feel it, too--Cyrille just unloads all this energy on the front line (that snare work is spectacular), and then it cools... they all made New Africa, and that's why I listen to this music...

Try this?

That's one of those sessions where everything works, but I have to give it up to Cyrille in particular (like in previous threads)--the man is just a monster of power and flexibility on those sides.